Resident Evil 5: 2008 or 2009?

[Shadow Stalker]

Ever since Resident Evil 5 was in development, the producers from Capcom have stated that the game took place ten years after Raccoon City incident, which should obviously mean that RE5 is set in the year 2008.

But then came along Adam's Blog, and as a result of the dates the blog was written on, most RE sites (incl. the RE5 Instruction Booklet itself) now states that RE5 now take place in the year 2009.

The question is I'm trying to say is: Which year did RE5 actually take place in? 2008 or 2009?

Personally I believe it's set in 2008, due to certain hints in the game, if memory serves me well.

[Karui]

2008

Chris said it was ten years...

[Shadow Stalker]

2008

Chris said it was ten years...

That's what I believe as well. It's just that I've also read some sites that state that it's set in 2009 (mostly the Resident Evil Wikia, among others).

Personally I believe that the RE5 Instruction Booklet stating that it was set in 2009 was a typo anyway.

[Vector]

I'll go with the experts on this one.

http://projectumbrella.net/articles/Resident-Evil-5

[Shadow Stalker]

I'll go with the experts on this one.

http://projectumbrella.net/articles/Resident-Evil-5

I will accept the part about Adam's experience in Kijuju before the B.S.A.A.'s arrival as canon (since it is Project Umbrella were talking about here). It's just that I refuse to believe that it took place in the year 2009, due to Capcom themselves stating it takes place "ten years" after the Raccoon City incident.

That's my opinion anyway mind you.

[BLSR1]

If RE5 takes place before September 2009, then technically it's still 10 years.

[Stars1356]

Yea thats what I was going to say, it could still be ten years and the year 2009. If Capcom went by when the game came out then RE 5 takes place March 2009.

[Karui]

I missed that detail.

[Smiley]

Well in-game evidence shows 2008. Jill's merc bio specifically states she is 33. Just as Chris is 35 and Wesker is 48. Now Jill's gravestone claims her birth year is 1974. So if she was 23 in RE1 and RE3 that places her B-day between october-december.

Also, after you defeat U-8, if you look at the monitors with Jill's picture and the "subject test file" if you use your scope to zoom in on the monitors you can see the daylight savings date as 3-17-2008. And it'll be noted that on other parts of the monitor (03.17.2008 if memory serves correct).

[GuardhouseMusic]

Keep in mind it would HAVE to be 2009, if it was in 2008 it would be 9 years by a pinch. Unless Chris is either a dope or rounding up.

[Vector]

Long story short, canon is what you choose it to be...like most of the series. Thanks Capcom!

[Smiley]

Keep in mind it would HAVE to be 2009, if it was in 2008 it would be 9 years by a pinch. Unless Chris is either a dope or rounding up.

That's if we're going by "ten years after July". 98-08 is still valid for ten years later.

However some things are in question. The manual that says "Africa 2009" also says TALOS happened in 2002 which is false. 2003 is the correct date in UC.

I'm lead to believe the viral advertising such as Adam's blog, the live action "Fear you can't forget" nonsense, etc. was all for the sake of promotion.

I'm not saying 2009 is impossible, but if that's the case then Capcom pushed it forward to keep up with the current release date of the games thereby ignoring their in-game mentions leading to 2008.

Could you imagine if they did that with RE4? It was released in 2005 but still took place in 2004.

[Dark_Chris]

News Bot where are you? Show yourself!!

[Carnivol]

Wouldn't take anything from Adam's Blog for good fish as far as game canon goes. It was most certainly initially intended as part of a simple marketing ARG advertisement campaign of the same type as all the twitter accounts for Darkside Chronicles. Although I guess it "fits in" if you want to believe the BSAA are the slowest acting special force unit in the world.


Anyway, I'm lazy and can't be bothered to look certain things up, but I vaguely remember various files covering dates from the first half of a year (up to May, iirc). Files being stuff about the guy talking of the oil fields and all the children dying + TriCell stuff (reapears + uroboros). Stuff of the type that I guess it's safe to assume did not happen ages before the BSAA evt. caught word of things and sent a team in. Going by the 10 years comment, it's not unreasonable to then assume RE5 "most likely" takes place sometime during or after summer 2008 (ie. 10 years after the Raccoon City Incident). As if most of those were written in 2009, then RE5 should be 11 years after... unless...

... you take into consideration the fact that the manual indeed states 2009 as the time of Chris going to Africa and/or you add Adam's Blog into the equation, both which pretty much just builds up to the game's final release date. Then RE5 probably takes place on the final entry of Adam's blog - 6th of March 2009 (or its release date, if you want). Which still technically falls within what's reasonable to call 10 years later, as far as the Raccoon City Incident vs Kijuju goes. But also, as far as local incidents goes... then shows how slow acting the BSAA must be and how tourism and local industry must still be alive and flourishing nearly a year after a place has gone straight to hell
(Including the manual's 2009 and excluding Adam's blog could put it in the second half of 2009, but that's 11 years post-Raccoon City... so...)

Additionally, I suspect all mentions of a year might have been deliberately taken out of Resident Evil 5 because the game's release date ended up getting pushed into 2009. It's much safer to play the vague game in this day and age where storytelling trumps gameplay on the care-o-meter amongst most audience and then just conveniently make things "contemporary" by excluding a fixed date. So axe 2009 from the manual and ignore Adam's blog and you have a vague period only defined as "10 years after Raccoon City"

[TheBatMan]

Well first of all you have official sources such as the Bio5 Kaitaishinsho that states it takes place in 2009
You also have the BSAA desktop which was written by the development team that has situation reports dating the incident as March 2009. {If this isn't canon then why is Wesker's Report 2 treated as such?}

Also if you want to be nitpickity, Bio 5 takes place in early March 2009 so technically that is closer to 10 years after Raccoon City than the 17.03.2008 is.

The answer here also lies in the files.

Let's start at the beginning;

2006 - Wesker visits Spencer - kills him. He now wants to assume Spencer's original plan of becoming a God and using the Progenitor Virus to create a new race of human beings. This is the genesis of the Uroboros plan. However - Wesker doesn't have the Progenitor Virus. Spencer said the location is a secret known only to a few and it can be surmised that if this was the case the location would not be stored in Umbrella's archives that Wesker had already stolen. However, he eventually uncovers its location {Spencer's notebook most likely}

Once Wesker discovers the location is Africa - this is what prompts him to get Excella to take over Tricell Africa. This has to be early 2007 as Miguel's Journal 1 is dated February 19th. This entry talks about how they have just discovered Umbrella Africa and that they have finally got hold of the Progenitor Virus.

Now for arguments sake - let's say RE5 does take place in March 2008 as you say {according to the date on that monitor}

Return to Miguel's Journal 1. His May 8th entry {which if we are going by this theory} would be dated May 8th 2007

"Our current aim is to develop a virus that surpasses the potential of both the G-Virus and T-Veronica"

This implies the virus is still far from complete and this is backed up by the rest of this entry.

However, another file Regarding Mutant Organism at the facility is dated May 6th, TWO DAYS BEFORE Miguel's entry {if it was written in the same year which it would have to be if RE5 took place in March 2008} specifically mentions the Uroboros virus and implies that at least a prototype must be ready.

"A fire broke out during the test for loading the Uroboros Virus onto the missiles."

This obviously doesn't make sense if they were written in the same year.

However, if RE5 took place in 2009 it would make perfect sense as Miguel's Journal would be dated 8th May 2007 where he is talking about the planning stages of the virus and then the Mutant Organism file dated 6th May 2008 where they at least had a prototype version of Uroboros ready to go.

Plus if Umbrella Africa was only just uncovered in Feb 07, that means they have just 11 months to expand the facility, creating that huge atrium et all and develop the Uroboros Virus as well as all the other new BOW? Two years is more realistic.

Its 2009.